Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Israel willing to renew talks with Lebanon on sea borders

The talks began last year and are being mediated by the United States, but hit an impasse in May.

Buoys designating Israel-Lebanon maritime borders. Credit: Chadica/Flickr.
Buoys designating Israel-Lebanon maritime borders. Credit: Chadica/Flickr.

Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar said on Tuesday that the Jewish state is prepared to renew talks with Lebanon over the sea-border dispute in the Mediterranean, though its northern neighbor “cannot dictate the lines.”

“We need to look for a solution that leads to a breakthrough and not try to think in the old ways of drawing lines,” she told Reuters in an interview in Paris.

“We started (negotiations) by one line and then they (Lebanon) pushed the line. Pushing and pushing the lines literally. It’s not the way to have a negotiation. They cannot dictate the lines,” she said.

The talks began last year and are being mediated by the United States, but hit an impasse in May.

“We share a gas field and have to find a solution on how to use it so that each side will have its share of it in a fair way. We are willing to give it another shot,” said Elharrar in the interview.

Ahmed Moor, who has called Hamas rocket fire “self-defense” and said that “‘Zionist Israel’ does not have the right to exist,” is the first candidate to announce that he’s taking on the pro-Israel stalwart.
Daniel Meron said that many countries that decry Israel publicly “in real life, they do business with Israel and they enjoy the great Israeli achievements in technology,” and “we are very pleased to cooperate with them.”
Arab parties, haredi conscription and Trump complicate his coalition bid.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs stated that it “has long called on the Canadian government to ensure that Canada is not used as a safe haven for the IRGC, its operatives or other elements of the regime.”